El Dorado planners OK 100-seat center even though some residents fear a possible RV park.
By Cathy Locke - Bee Staff Writer
Plans for a 100-seat banquet center off Highway 50 east of Placerville
received El Dorado County Planning Commission approval, despite some
commissioners' concerns that the project sets the stage for a
recreational-vehicle park.
Nick and Sue Demidoff of Pollock Pines propose to build the Sierra Banquet Center, a two-story 3,064-square-foot banquet hall and a 1,200-square-foot caretaker's cottage on the south side of Ponderado Road, next to the Camino Heights subdivision.
Sue Demidoff told the commission Sept. 28 that the couple initially planned to construct an RV park. "We wanted to serve people breakfast in the morning, so we started to design a commercial kitchen," she said.
But following adoption of the county's new general plan in 2004, she said, they were told a special-use permit would be required for the RV park.
Demidoff said they decided to pursue a banquet center instead, citing the need for such a facility in the Apple Hill area, and perhaps seek a use permit later for an RV park.
"We're going to go slow and see how the banquet center goes," she said.
The project was subject to Planning Commission review because it is within the Sierra Design Control District and must meet certain design guidelines. In keeping with the mountain setting, the buildings will be constructed of logs, with river rock accents and green metal roofs.
Commission member Dave Machado said he was concerned that the floor plan for the banquet center included only single men's and women's restrooms on the ground floor, and a bathroom and bedroom on the second floor, though the plan indicated the second floor wouldn't be used for banquet activities.
He also questioned the need for a caretaker's cottage with laundry facilities several hundred feet from the main building.
Demidoff said she and her husband anticipated staying overnight in the banquet center if they had a late party. She said the upstairs bedroom and the caretaker's quarters also could be used as dressing areas for bridal parties.
Jacquelyn Kasline, a resident of the adjoining Camino Heights subdivision, said she was concerned that traffic from the banquet center would pose safety hazards for vehicles entering and leaving the neighborhood. "Going out or coming in is very treacherous at night or when the weather is bad," she said.
Traffic from the banquet center would make the situation worse, she said, especially if liquor is involved.
Bob Kasline, vice president of the Camino Heights Homeowners Association, said the project the Demidoffs presented to the Planning Commission did not match the description in a letter the couple distributed to the neighborhood.
In that letter, residents said, the Demidoffs talked of building their dream home and sharing it with the public by providing catering services.
Instead, one resident said, "the rumor is they are trying to build a Moose Hall without the Moose."
Machado noted that the property is zoned for commercial, not residential, use and questioned using the second floor for living quarters.
County planning staff members said the general plan encourages mixed-use development, with commercial or office space on a ground floor and residences on upper floors, but the zoning ordinance has not been updated to reflect those goals. Currently, the upper story could not be used as an apartment, they said, though separate caretaker's quarters are permitted.
Machado said he thought it unlikely a bride in a long gown would want to walk some distance across a parking lot to the banquet hall. Changing rooms and laundry facilities would be more appropriate in the main building, he said.
"I think you're preparing for an RV park," Machado said, arguing that building locations and floor plans appeared more suited to that purpose than a banquet center.
Commission member Alan Tolhurst, an architect, said the restrooms shown in the plans were inadequate for the size of the banquet facility and would have to be expanded to meet county code requirements. That, in turn, would affect the space available for banquet seating, he said.
If the footprint of the building changes as a result, Tolhurst asked that the project come back to the commission for review.
He also supported Machado's proposal to prohibit overnight parking on the site for anyone except the caretaker.
Tolhurst, however, recommended approving the project, saying that a banquet facility complies with the commercial zoning. "They're proposing to do the right thing in the proper zoning," he said. "It's commercial because it's up against the highway."
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